Centrifugal separator.



E. KO'PKE. GENTRIFUGAL SBPARATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN.17, 1914.

1,1 1 7, 1 95, Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

BY% p}: awn M 2s! EIRNSli. KfiIKE, OF HONOLULU,v TERRITQRY .OF HAWAII.

CENTRIFUGAL SERARATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. .17, 1914.

' Application filed January 17, 1914. Serial No. 812,659.

To all/whom it may concern Be it nknown that I, ,ERNST Korma, a citizen of, the United States, residing at Honolulu, in the county of Honolulu and Territory ,of. Hawaii, have invented certain new, andv useful. Improvements in Gentrifugal. Separators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description. of. the invention, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains .to make and use the same.

' This invention relates to centrifu al clarifiers or separators, and is particularly adapted. for the separation of mechanical impurities from juices in the manufacture of sugar.

The principal mechanical .impurities in cane juices, atter. being limed and heated, are: earth, small particles of fiber, coagulatedalbumin and lime.

.The method universally employed in sugar factories for separating the clear juice from the. muds, is bythe use of settlingv tanks and filter presses. In the settling tanks,., the. earth and lime are rapidly precipitated, albumin eitherriseto the surface or float about, indiiferently in the juice. The operation requires the lapse of considerable time before separation can be sulficiently eifected. so that from 70% to 80% canbe drawn oil in a fairly clear the, remaining 20% to 30%, all the mechanical impurities, oil asscum or mud, and then betreated in the filter presses. The disadvantages of this method of separation are: the loss of heat, the loss of sugar by inversion which occurs in= the presses, the space occupied by the tanks and the presses, and the large quantity of juice always under treatment .owing to the length of time required by this process.

Myinvention contem lates a centrifugal clarifier or separator which will separate the mechanical impurities from the juice, thus eliminatin settling tanks and mud presses with all t eir disadvantages. It'requires only about one-half of theheat, less labor to operate, and less water-for exhausting the mud, than with the process above mentioned. Byits use, very little juice is in storage at anytime, practically no inversion occurs, and no filter cloth is required. The space required in the factory is materially reduced.

which carries can be drawn .anintroduction. which; the l quor .to be treated enters the .introduction chamberin a ribbon like stream possible to the ,perforated supporting plate; all of which .will hereinafter more. fully appear.

whilet-he particles of fiber and part of.this sents ,in. sectional elevation a .centrifugal type, onwith ,.perf0rate ,sides. jlowerhead 1 bowl comprising, a plate ring having its top flat and horizontal ..and its outer portion conical and declining toward the bottom head .of the .bowl and toward the imperforate sides of the bowl, thelower edge of the conical portion being concentric with and near the walls of. the bowl and adjacent to the bottom head of the bowl, this plate ring by a vertical cylindrical being supported perforated, plate having its lower end secured. tothe. bottom; head. of the bowl; and pipe with suitablenozzle by and in .a. direction. .as nearly tangential. as liquor-inside of the aforesaid In. thelaccoinpanying drawings, forming a specification, Figure 1. repreclarifier or separator-embodying my inven- ..tion. ig..2.is .asectionahplan view of a portion of-the bowl of the same machine on condition, and

the line.'2 2.:of Fig. 1, showing theinlet .nozzle.

Referring to. the drawings, the revoluble .bowl lmay bemounted inany. suitable man- ..ner,..for-.=example, with its spindle 2 either suspended 1 from the top, as. in ,the Weston I atop and a' bottom bearing, as .111 ,the Hepworth type of centrifugal machines. .The revoluble bowl 1, which has imor (walls, is provided with a securedto. the hub 1 attached to;the.spindle.2, and with a fiat ring shaped :upper head. 1. This upper, head 1 is provided with slotsor holes 3, through which the clarifiedliquoris discharged .from the bowl into the tub or-curb 4.

An introduction chamber 5 is. formed concentrically within the bowl 1, by means of a plate ring- 6 supported by. a vertical cylindrical perforatedplate 7. The upper portion of the, plate ring 6 is flatv and approxi-' mately hor1zontal,..andthe lower or outer portion 6 is conical and declines from the upper portion downward and outward,'as

shown. The lower edge 6 of the conical portion 6* is made true and concentric with the bowl 1, and is near the imperforate walls of the bowl and adjacent to the lower head 1*. The lower edge of the cylindrical perforated supporting plate 7 is secured to the lower head 1*. This plate 7 is vertical and concentric with the bowl 1, and is located slightl outside of vertical lines passing throng the discharge outlet holes 3, as represented by the line B-B in Fig. 1.

The liquor to be treated is introduced through the pipe 8 provided withthe nozzle 9 through which the liquor enters the introduction chamber 5 in a ribbon like stream and in a direction as nearly tangential as possible to the liquor inside of the perforated supporting late 7. The position of this ribbon like disc large from the nozzle 9 within the introduction chamber 5, toward or away from the perforated supporting plate 7, may be altered by turning the pipe 8. The nozzle 9, however, must always clear the inner surface of the liquor of maximum horizontal depth within the introduction chamber 5.

The mud discharging blade 10 is secured to the lower end of the bar 11, adapted to be moved vertically in the bracket casting 12 supported by the plate cover 13 of the tub or curb 4. The bar 11 may be raised or lowered by turning the hand wheel 14., by means of the well known rack and pinion movement. This blade 10 is shaped such clear the plate ring 6 whenthat it will just it is lowered and its lower end 10' is in contact with the lower head 1 of the bowl 1. The bar 11 clears the inner edge of the upper head 1 of the bowl 1.

in operation, the liquor with its admixed impurities is discharged under pressure through the nozzle 9 in a ribbon like stream and at a relatively slow speed onto the surface of the revolving liquor inside of the introduction chamber 5. The liquor in this chamber is accelerated partially by contact with the plate ring 6 and the lower head l but mostly by contact with the perforated supporting plate 7. The depth. horizontally of this liquor within the introduction chamber 5 varies and depends upon the resistance ofiered to the flow of the liquor through the contracted annular opening between the edge 6* andthe deposited muds, as will hereinafter appear. When the liquor in the introduction chamber 5 has attained the same speed as that of the perforated plate 7, it is forced through the perforations in said plate in radial individual streams into the contracting chamber under the conical portion 6 of the plate 6. The perforated plate 7 is not a strainer, for the screen of the juice strainer at the mill, through which the juice has been straine has finer perforations than those of this plate 7 The function of the perforated plate 7, in addition to that of supporting the plate 6, is to accelerate the liquor within the introduction chamber 5 and to cause the liquor to flow through its perforations in individual radial streams into the contracting chamber, as previously mentioned. These radial streams are again united in this contracting chamber and are accelerated by contact with the conical portion 6* of the plate 6, and pass under the lip or edge 6', whereupon the heavier impurities in the liquor are thrown by centrifugal force toward the walls of the bowl 1 and are deposited and accumulate in the lower cornor of the bowl, in a semi-fluid slime like deposit. This deposit soon builds up under the edge 6 and has a choking or throttling effect on the passage of the liquor past this edge 6", and insures through skin friction the acceleration of the liquor from the speed existing within the contracting chamber to that existing at the edge 6*. The resistance thus offered to the passage of the liquor through the contracted annular opening between the edge 6? and the deposited mud, and even through the mud, is perfectly halanced by the automatic increase or decrease of the head or horizontal depth of the liquor in the introduction chamber 5, previously referred to. The clarified liquor accumulates in the bowl 1 until the bowl is filled in up to the line B-B of Fig. 1, whereupon the liquor is discharged through the openings 3 and over the upper head 1 into the tub or curb 4.. During the,time the liquor is traveling from the edge 6 to the discharge outlet 3, it is exposed to centrifugal action and the finer particles are separated thereby from the juice'and are deposited on. the surface of the muds accumulated near the walls of the bowl. This has been demonstrated by examination of the strata of the horizontal sections of. the muds deposited in the bowl. The muds and impurities con tinue to be deposited and to build up from the walls of the bowl inward until it becomes necessary to remove them from the bowl, which is accomplished by lowering the discharger blade 10, after stopping the flow of liquor through the pipe 8. The muds are thus plowed and fall through the opening inside of the plate 6.

It will be noted that the separation of the impurities or non-fluids from the fluids takes place at the lip or edge 6", and that the fluids, which are incompressible, are forced to flow toward the center of gyration, and leave behind the non-fluids which are retained due to their inertia and resistance.

By the arrangement as described, small particles of woody fiber thus become water logged and are separated with the heavier impurities, as the pressure to which they are subjected expels any air they may contain,

so that theydo not fioat as in the case with settling tanks.

I claim:

1. A centrifugal separator comprising, a

revoluble bowl having imperforate sides, a lower head, a flat rin shaped upper head provided with holes or the discharge of liquor from the bowl, an introduction chamber formed concentrically within the bowl by a plate ring supported by-a cylindrical perforated plate, said plate having a flat top and a conical outer portion, and means for introducing the liquor to be treated into the introduction chamber, substantially as set forth.

2. A centrifugal separator comprising, a revoluble bowl having imperforate sides, a lower head, a flat ring shaped upper head provided with holes for the discharge of liquor from the bowl, an introduction chamber formed concentrically within the bowl by a plate ring supported by a cylindrical perforated plate, said plate'ring having a conical outer portion, means for introducing liquor into the introduction chamber, and a blade adapted to discharge the-mud from the bowl, substantially as described.

- 8. In a centrifu al separator, a revoluble bowl with imper orate sides, a plate ring having a fiat top and a conical outer portion declinlng toward the lower corner of the bowl-,- and a cylindrical perforated plate supporting said plate ring.

4. In a centrifugal separator, a revoluble bowl with imperforate sides, a plate ring supported above the lower head of the bowl by a perforated plate, and a mud discharging blade adapted to clear the said plate rin when the said blade is in its lowest position, substantially as and for the purpose as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ERNST KGPKE. 

